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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 2, 2004)
Page 3 • Wednesday, June 2, 2004 J E BATTAll rules enacteji rrorists atej p from return ly. Ships arefc| officials entering Cloy. /as anchord Monday ei-l I Guard apprcl jock at Teffil d will keeprj at rates to go to collij etary forj ts got! 1990. ofTheCoi srogress i pout rates,s next Big Ei iappens,"lii Ivent wasj i an indept ent parts ofl winner nil inference, sb: had beer t ough infora: iminate ilfe Id get it t /ould prt , happy Tk ed for help: irk and ded: Ve really l&; ws how gres; a little effort Sports The Battalion Texas A&M equestrian team wins third consecutive collegiate title By Jordan Meserole THE BATTALION People often associate many words with Texas A&M: Corps of Cadets, football, maroon and Aggies are just a few. There might be a new word added to the long list soon, and one that many might not expect: eques trian. The Texas A&M equestrian team won its third consecutive national championship on the first weekend of May in Murfreesboro, Tenn. It is the first time that A&M is the out right winner of the trophy, shar ing the top spot with West Texas A&M in 2003 and Ohio State University in 2002. A&M also became only the second school in equestrian col legiate history to win three con secutive titles, the last being Ohio State. “It’s quite an achievement-phenomenal at that-to win three years in a row with almost a different set of athletes each year,” said head coach Tana Rawson. “It's nice to not be sharing the trophy too. I feel like the girls were given what they deserved.” The Aggies won in dramatic fashion, which was strangely similar to last year’s competi tion. A&M entered the last event of the show, needing sen ior Ashley Shiftier to place sec ond or higher in the open horse manship event. Shiftier gave her team just what it needed, earning the second place ribbon. “We all had our arms linked and were real nervous,” said sophomore Morgan Senac, on waiting to hear the final results. “Deep down though, we all knew she could do it.” On the individual side, senior Jennifer Jones took the top spot in the beginner horsemanship class, the fourth time an Aggie has been a top individual rider at the national competition. “It was exciting to win it because everyone at nationals is a great rider,” Jones said. “You have to be perfect there because one little bitty mistake often becomes a huge mistake.” Jones won the individual tro phy despite having a bad ankle and back that plagued her during the season, with both injuries requiring surgery. Jones shrugged off doctors 4 sugges tion that she have the surgery during the season to keep help ing her team out. “It’s like here’s your ribbon, trophy and saddle. Oh yeah, and now you’re going to have sur gery,” Jones said. “But it was definitely worth it to put it all off. I’d do it again too.” The Aggies barely had any time to celebrate, loading on a plane back to College Station See Champs on page 4 Junior Terri Beaudoin, a member of the Texas A&M equestrian team, sits next to the Heritage Trophy which, is presented to the national equestrian Brian Wills • THE BATTALION champion every year. Beaudoin who has only been riding one year, helped A&M win the trophy by placing third in the beginner horsemanship event. 1 word respon ■ Jered off, the: :ked off wit a series of aid Rocha k in Francisco J Laci Pete; all day. Hi tell police wl ng to catch« vestigatorstli affair— alif e very public massage thit ctepped forw mass and tin numbers sit lopulation of o reflect thef i state ofl who we’re hi closer we ca: ;tter off well Phis is obvioii cess and it ime.” y Chief aphics Editor Editor SPORTS IN BRIEF Baseball ousted from Big 12 Tournament The No. 10 Texas A&M baseball team (39-19) was eliminated from the Big 12 Tournament this previous weekend at Ameriquest Field in Arlington. The Aggies lost in the minimum two games, giving up a 6-5 heart- breaker to Oklahoma State in the opener, and a 13-6 loser’s brack et decision versus the No. 1 University of Texas. In last Wednesday’s opener with the fourth-seeded Cowboys (36- 22), the fifth-seeded Aggies bat tled 0SU to the end. A&M struck first and tagged OSU starter Thomas Cowley for a pair of runs in the top of the second inning to take an early 2-0 lead. The Pokes answered by rocking A&M redshirt freshman pitcher Jason Meyer for four runs in the bottom half of the third to take the lead. A&M freshman Austin Boggs and sophomore Coby Mavroulis each singled home a run in the top of the fifth to tie the game at four, but OSU would answer back again in the seventh and eighth to steal the game from the Aggies, 6-5. OSU went on to beat Texas in the semifinal and the Missouri Tigers in the title game to take home the tournament championship. A&M went on to face the Longhorns, who lost their opener against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Texas (49-13) shelled A&M junior starting pitcher Zach Jackson for three runs in the top of the second to take an early lead. Senior Cory Patton answered back for the Aggies, in the bottom half of the inning, by launching the first pitch from Longhorn jun ior pitcher J.P. Howell into the seats to cut the lead to 3-1. A&M shaved the Longhorns’ lead to 6- 5 in the fifth before UT blew the game open in the seventh on a bases-loaded double by freshman Drew Stubbs. The Aggies will begin post-sea son play Friday against Lamar University in Houston at 7 p.m. Tennis season ends on sour note for Cook Texas A&M men’s tennis junior Lester Cook, who was ranked No. 13 nationally, competed for his second year in a row at the NCAA Singles Championship Thursday. Similar to last year, Cook was put out of the round of 32 players after receiving only his third loss of his final 22 matches in a battle against Vanderbilt senior Chad Harris, 7-6 (5), 7-5. During the 74-minute first set, Harris was able to even the score at 4-4 and gain some momentum. Beginning with the eighth game, Cook won 10 of the next 12 points. In the 12th game, Harris had triple match point after battling through two deuce points. Cook was able to fight off two match points, but gave way to Harris on the third. Cook will spend part of his summer as a member of the USA Tennis Collegiate Team that will travel to China to compete in exhibition matches. Aggies grab gold, ticket to nationals The Texas A&M track and field team captured a handful of medals at Saturday's 2004 Midwest Region Track and Field Championships, and many Aggies advanced to the national championships. Aggie junior Jarrad Matthews secured the gold medal in the javelin by launching a 243 foot-6 inch bomb that cleared the sec ond place finisher’s toss by 14 feet It was Matthews' second-best career throw and the sixth-best throw in school history. Also qualifying for the national meet in the javelin was A&M sen ior Luke Marrs, with a fifth-place toss of 219-1. Highlighting the track competi tion on the women’s side was A&M senior and six-time All- American Melissa Gulli. Gulli won the 5,000-meter run with a decisive 10-second victo ry over second-place finisher Mary Kinyanjui of Texas Christian University. Also earning spots in the national meet were A&M seniors Ronny Jimenez for the shot put event and Karenrose Honea for the women's discus event. The men and women who quali fied for the national champi onships will compete June 9-12 at Meyer Stadium in Austin. Teams prepare for pivotal game 5 By Alan Robinson THE ASSOCIATED PRESS TAMPA, Fla. — Three times before in these Stanley Cup playoffs, the Calgary Flames were 2- 2 in a series. Three times they went on the road and won, then took the series. Twice before in these playoffs, the Tampa Bay Lightning played a pivotal Game 5. They won both, once to end a series and the other time to take control of it. So is it any surprise the Flames and Lightning go into Thursday night’s Game 5 of their tighter- than-tight Stanley Cup final tied, with Tampa Bay holding home-ice advantage but neither team real ly in control? “I don’t look at what number the game is,” Lightning coach John Tortorella said Tuesday. “It’s Game 5, and it’s exactly what it is. It’s the first of three and we’re looking to get to four (victories).” The Flames are so accustomed to being in this position, they don’t seem intimidated by the necessity of having to win at least once more in Tampa, where two of the next three games would be played. Calgary is 9-3 on the road and won Game 1 in Tampa, where the Lightning are 8-3. “Game 5 has got to be our best game of the series and then we go from there,” the Flames’ Craig Conroy said. “We have done it before so maybe we’ve learned something from that, but still this is the first time we’ve done it in the Stanley Cup finals.” Conversely, the Lightning are glad to be home again after getting back into the series with their 1-0 victory Monday in Calgary, goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin’s fifth shutout of the playoffs. So who has the advantage in a series where the momentum, and the favorite, seemingly shifts not just from game to game, but minute to minute? If anything, the only two-day break in the series couldn’t come at a better time for the Lightning, and not just to recover from Tuesday’s 5-hour flight. Defenseman Pavel Kubina and for ward Ruslan Fedotenko both get an extra day to heal after sitting out Monday with injuries. Also, star Vincent Lecavalier didn’t play the final 4-plus minutes after being rammed into the glass face-first by Ville Nieminen. The Lightning have yet to disclose Lecavalier’s status for Thursday, and the NHL hasn’t announced if Nieminen would be suspended. The Flames’ determination to not be out-hit or outmuscled has forced Tampa Bay to fight for every inch of open ice, and it’s been suc cessful. The Lightning have scored only six goals in four games, all but two coming in their 4-1 victory in Game 2. But the Flames paid the price for their overt aggressiveness by giving the Lightning a 5-on-3 advantage early in Game 4, which they turned into Brad Richards’ record seventh game-winning goal of the playoffs. Tortorella, whose team has alter nated wins and losses over each of the last two rounds, isn’t surprised the final has been so defense-orient ed, even though both teams were much more aggressive offensively in previous series. “As we’ve gone along, Calgary has gone into more of a defensive mode and, again, we go about our business and try to get our job done,” Tortorella said. “I just think as you go through the long road in the playoffs, it’s a matter of trying to keep momentum.” Calgary captain Jarome Iginla was as much angry as he was disappointed the Flames couldn’t keep that momentum Monday, especially with a chance to take a commanding 3-1 lead. No team has rallied from such a deficit in the Stanley Cup final since the 1942 Maple Leafs. “Now it’s a best-of-three for the Stanley Cup,” he said. “It wasn’t supposed to be easy and I wouldn’t want it any other way. The more on the line, the more fun it is to play and the more fun it is to win.” The more on the line, the more fun it is to play and the more fun it is to win. — Jarome Iginla Calgary Flames Right Wing and team captain adio Producer through Friday#' during the sunt# :as A&M Univeisi) TTER: Send addltS College Station? ints at Texas 0 14 Reed McDorf 5-2647; E-ntii ) or endorsement!' call 845-2696.fi 1 15 Reed McDort : 845-2678. ixas A&M student )pies25$.Mailsit' ister, $17.50 font* scover, or America' Jlofie PneaHattou Ge+iteSiA. » * • OF BRAZOS VALLEY Beyond YOU COULD HAVE AN STD AND NOT KNOW IT! (j ATHLETICISM IF YOU'RE SEXUALLY ACTIVE YOU ARE Summer-long ATHLETIC workout! AT RISK - EVEN IF YOU ARE USING CONDOMS. Yes, you WILL lose bodyfat. STD Testing - Free & Confidential Call our Registered Nurse to make an appointment L e aner. Stronger. Faster. 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